Lingonsylt (Swedish Lingonberry Jam)

Name: Lingonsylt (Swedish Lingonberry Jam)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h

January 29, 2020

Prep 20 min Total 2 hr

Lingonsylt (Swedish Lingonberry Jam) - kvalifood.com

A three-ingredient preserve that is a savory condiment in Sweden, not a toast jam. Served alongside meatballs, pancakes, game, liver, and potato dishes. Lingonberries have enough natural pectin that no added pectin is needed.

Makes ca. 500 ml

Ingredients

500 g lingonberries (fresh or frozen)
250 g granulated sugar
100 ml water

Directions

Pick over fresh lingonberries, removing any stems, leaves, or damaged berries. Rinse and drain. If using frozen berries, thaw them first.

Place berries and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until berries have burst and released their juice.

Add sugar and stir until fully dissolved. Return to a boil and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Skim any foam from the surface.

Pour hot jam into clean jars. Let cool completely – it thickens significantly as it cools. Store in the refrigerator. Keeps for several weeks.

Notes

Sugar is flexible. The 1:0.50 berry-to-sugar ratio is traditional, but you can reduce to 1:0.33 for a more tart result.

Frozen berries need less water since they release liquid as they thaw.

For a fresher flavor, remove from heat before adding sugar and stir it in off-heat. This is a traditional Swedish technique.

For the raw variant (rarrorda lingon), simply mix berries with sugar at a 2:1 ratio by weight, stir periodically until sugar dissolves, and refrigerate.